Sculpting Reliefs

[Dan Morton]

As in - "How do I sculpt in relief?"

My guess would be that it is variations of the same process as sculpting figures. But instead of starting with the figure itself, probably I would start with the base or piece into which/out of which the relief will be put, finishing that completely first. Then I would build armatures and whatever I need to make the figures that will be in the relief, paying particular attention to changes in scale or perspective, if any.

I'm not very interested in flats, but a relief might be kinda neat.

Alright, now that you've had a good laugh at my naivete'. Tell me how you really do it, OK?

 

[Wendy]

I think I understand what you're getting at. It's pretty much the same as sculpting "in the round", just make sure the surface on which you're sculpting is either the surface that you want the putty permanently affixed to, or vaseline or something similar is used to keep the finished product from sticking to whatever flat surface you're using. If the sculpt is removed from the original surface, care must be taken not to break it or knock off a piece. (That said, magic sculp is surprisingly resilient.) Besides that, pretty much all the normal rules apply.

I'm guessing that some of the pics from the site you posted earlier provided some inspiration.

Wendy

 

[Dan Morton]

Wendy - Yes, they did! I particularly liked the 3 figure naval vignette, but other possibilities are running around in my fevered brain. I'm a lot more intrigued by a full relief vs. a bas relief, which is nearly the same thing as some of the flats I've seen. Don't get me wrong. I think some of the flats I've seen are marvelously well done and interesting - just not interested in doing one myself. Not sure exactly why. I suspect if I puzzled out all my motivations, I'd never do any sculpting at all.

All the best,
Dan

 

[Roy]

Hi Dan, sounds like a really fun idea to me.

I would say that the major thing to be aware of is perspective.

As with a flat, but with greater depth between the many different layers.

Carefully check out the design you intend to work from and divide the work into it's specific layers, a few simple sketches or notes would help.

When work begins, start with the most distant layer, moving forward to the nearest elements of the piece, all the time bearing in mind the correct perspective and how the overall piece will be viewed.

As for armatures, if there are to be some free standing or even delicate elements included, I would certainly take the same care as you would for a full figure regarding handling or transport, so an armature for such pieces would definitely be a good idea.

Good luck on starting your project.

Roy.

 

[garyjd]

Dan, Here are links to the two "reliefs" I have done. These two are going to be cast in the near future, so it will be interesting to see how they turn out. Good luck.~Gary

http://www.planetfigure.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17981
http://www.planetfigure.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18476

 

[Dan Morton]

Many thanks, Gary! I'd forgotten your bas reliefs! Grand! My interest is more in doing a full relief. It should be a bit of an adventure. I'm working up my courage at the moment.

All the best,
Dan

 

[yeo_64]

Hi Dan !
GO FOR IT ! It should be fun ! Cheers !
Kenneth .

 

[Dan Morton]

Kenneth - Many thanks! Hey, what are you up to? Haven't seen a project from you for a bit. I always look forward to them because you're so inventive and innovative.

All the best,
Dan

 

[John Long]

Dan, Here are links to the two "reliefs" I have done. These two are going to be cast in the near future, so it will be interesting to see how they turn out. Good luck.~Gary

http://www.planetfigure.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17981
http://www.planetfigure.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18476

Gary, somehow missed those. Brilliant! They look very nice.

Dan,

I'll be looking forward to how you handle your project. If I understand correctly, you're going for a relief like a person might see integrated into a building or monument?

 

[Dan Morton]

John - Yeah, sorta. I'm not really certain what I want to do just yet. I know I like full relief sculpture much better than bas relief (flats essentially). Nothing against flats - it's just a matter of taste. I'm intrigued by the idea and want to explore it with a project. Have you done something like this? I particularly like the naval relief done by John Goscombe. Just as an exercise in learning the technique, I may try to do this in miniature. What do you think?

This particular piece would require an unusual piece of wood as a mounting, wouldn't it? I'm imagining the wood as the whole semi-circular piece going around the relief. The relief would both fit into the wood as an insert, kinda, but also stand away from it. I think I'd have to have the wood at an early stage to be able to sculpt this.

Learning by trial and error, I guess. Similar to hunting land mines with your toe'sies.

All the best,
Dan

 

[garyjd]

This particular piece would require an unusual piece of wood as a mounting, wouldn't it? I'm imagining the wood as the whole semi-circular piece going around the relief. The relief would both fit into the wood as an insert, kinda, but also stand away from it. I think I'd have to have the wood at an early stage to be able to sculpt this.

Dan

Why wood? I think that a large piece of sheet styrene would fit the bill. I would at least laminate it with plastic so you do not have to deal with sealing all that woodgrain to get a smooth surface.~Gary

 

[garyjd]

John, Thanks. I hope to have a new relief on the bench soon.~Gary

 

[Dan Morton]

Gary - I think we may be miscommunicating. The blue bits in this picture were what I thought should be wood to frame all round the sculpted relief. The bottom or back of the relief would fit down into a recess into the wood and of course stand away from the frame a bit on all sides. The deck would also probably be a strong thin wood cut to show planks. The wheel and all the figures would be hung or stuck on armatures embedded in the wood and/or the putty in the recessed bit.

Were you saying you thought the frame should be sheet styrene?

All the best,
Dan

 

[yeo_64]

Thanks, Dan !

Hey Dan !
Thanks for the encouragement, my friend; I really appreciate it . I've been rather busy at work recently, hence the "silence" on the "planet". However, I've finally found the time to do a little sculpting and am working on a 2-figure WW1 vignette featuring some German troopers and dogs . I hope to post some pictures soon, so hang in there, my friend. You'll definitely be seeing some new stuff soon. Cheers !
Kenneth .

 

[garyjd]

Were you saying you thought the frame should be sheet styrene?

All the best,
Dan

Dan, I thought you were talking about the background portion. ~Gary

 

[captnenglish]

Dan, Idont know exactly how you would go about sculpting this, but have thout about doing similar projects, so good luck with this one It looks like it would be equally challanging to paint

 

[Dan Morton]

Gary - Yeah, the background could be sheet styrene! Just miscommunicatin'.

Matthew - I think I would have to do the background, waves, etc. and maybe the helmsman as one piece, the captain as a separate layer and the boy sailor as a separate figure to enable the painter to complete it. Right?

I'm still not certain I want to do this naval vignette exactly. It would be a good exercise if nothing else, but I'd like to do an original design eventually.

All the best,
Dan

 

[captnenglish]

Gary - Yeah, the background could be sheet styrene! Just miscommunicatin'.

Matthew - I think I would have to do the background, waves, etc. and maybe the helmsman as one piece, the captain as a separate layer and the boy sailor as a separate figure to enable the painter to complete it. Right?

I'm still not certain I want to do this naval vignette exactly. It would be a good exercise if nothing else, but I'd like to do an original design eventually.

All the best,
Dan

Dan,
IMHO, since I can only see the piece from the fron't, as I suppose it is menat to be seen I can't tell how it is engineered and sculpting is completely foreign to me regardless of how many tutorials I read, what you say makes sense, but I think that the capt and helms man need to be attached at some point (porbably lower body). I can also understand your desire to sculpt something original, but that was not the question posed. Either way, I wouldn't mind a crak at whatever you turn up from this project as I like the dynamics and think the sculpture will make paint challenging.